Will i fail NCT with 91T winter tyres on a passat ?

NordicDiver

My normal tyres are 97y but i bought a set of used winter tyres that was from another passat and only noticed the load rating now and it is 91T,,

I have an NCT next month so was just thinking there if they could fail the car with that load rating ?

CiniO

NordicDiver wrote: »

My normal tyres are 97y but i bought a set of used winter tyres that was from another passat and only noticed the load rating now and it is 91T,,

I have an NCT next month so was just thinking there if they could fail the car with that load rating ?

I don't think they check load index at all - I couldn't find anything about it in NCT manual.
Speed index must be equal or above maximum legal speed limit (which means it must be at least 120km/h). SIC...

Anyway - I have 91T winter tyres on my Mazda6, and had absolutely no problem on NCT.

You must remember not to exceed 190km/h as T speed rating is up to 190km/h.
However there is always a bit leeway - the most I tried was about 210 on those tyres and I'm still alive.

nct tester

acceptable speed ratings are anything between and including L up to Z as well as H (which is the minimum 120kmph). load index is not checked and commercial tyres are acceptable.

CiniO

nct tester wrote: »

acceptable speed ratings are anything between and including L up to Z as well as H (which is the minimum 120kmph). load index is not checked and commercial tyres are acceptable.

Do tyres with speed index L really exist?
Does anyone have them fitted on normal cars?

nct tester

cant say for sure if i have ever seen one , most common one would be T in my experience. actually i think H could be 210kmph now that i think of it. dont know what the ratings are, just know what one's are legal and what ones are not

CiniO

nct tester wrote: »

cant say for sure if i have ever seen one , most common one would be T in my experience. actually i think H could be 210kmph now that i think of it. dont know what the ratings are, just know what one's are legal and what ones are not

Heh thanks.

I was asking as I haven't even seen tyres with such low speed ratings (except from truck tyres) - but not for passenger car.

It would be quite dangerous for someone to have 120km/h rated tyres on a car. Even though legal limit is 120km/h what if the car owner is not aware about his speed rating and decides to do 160km/h down the hill. Madness.


AFAIR in most EU countries it's illegal to have tyres with speed rating lower than maximum vehicle speed declared by manufacturer. (there usually is exception for winter tyres). So f.e. my car accodring to manufacturer can do 206km/h so tyres with speed rating lower than H (210km/h) would be illegal on the Continent.

NordicDiver

Thanks CiniO & NCT tester,, hopefully i will not get stuck up in mayo visiting the in-laws during winter months anymore :pac:

TheBully

Your Passat would have started out with 215/55x16 with a speed and load index of 97W! Speed rating (W) isn't checked in the NCT however load rating is, A load rating of 91 which you have on your car at the minute makes me think you have changed your Tyre size to 205/55x16, 91 is the Lowest possible allowed rating for your car so you should be grand!!

Don't worry about speed ratings, Unless ur driving a ferrari then it doesn't matter! it doesn't mean that your tyre will explode if u reach a certain speed, It means that they are tested at that speed for a prolonged length of time! hope that's a help!

NordicDiver

Normally I have 235/45/17 on it ,,just need some winter tyres for the next few months and got a set used from another passat owner, only spotted the load rating after i bought them. yep your right they are 205/55/16.

slimjimmc

TheBully wrote: »

Your Passat would have started out with 215/55x16 with a speed and load index of 97W! Speed rating (W) isn't checked in the NCT however load rating is, A load rating of 91 which you have on your car at the minute makes me think you have changed your Tyre size to 205/55x16, 91 is the Lowest possible allowed rating for your car so you should be grand!!

Don't worry about speed ratings, Unless ur driving a ferrari then it doesn't matter! it doesn't mean that your tyre will explode if u reach a certain speed, It means that they are tested at that speed for a prolonged length of time! hope that's a help!

No you've got it backwards. Speed rating is checked, load rating is not.
Take a read of Section 37 of the NCT Manual

TheBully

slimjimmc wrote: »

No you've got it backwards. Speed rating is checked, load rating is not.
Take a read of Section 37 of the NCT Manual

Ya sorry, His speed rating is still totally acceptable anyway, I was thinking of the DOE test for vans and commercials

Nissan doctor

The 'speed' rating that tyres have is not simply a measurement of 'a tyre can do this speed safely'. Its is actually a rating of how long the carcass of a tyre can maintain its structural stability(not overheat) at a certain speed for a certain time(10 mins from memory).

T rated tyres fitted to a heavy car like a Passat would be prone to overheating on per longed motorway trips.

This is why even large cars with small, low powered engines(1.6 Passat or 1.2tsi Octavia for example) still come with V or W rated tyres.

Winter tyres would only make the problem worse as the softer compound with much more grooves would also overheat much faster then summer tyres.


A long winded answer as to why I would say the tyres aren't suited to the car....but for now, just like mis-matched tyres on the same axle, they will pass the NCT.

NordicDiver

Nissan doctor wrote: »

T rated tyres fitted to a heavy car like a Passat would be prone to overheating on per longed motorway trips.

I'll only drive to Dublin when its raining to cool them down

Nissan doctor

NordicDiver wrote: »

I'll only drive to Dublin when its raining to cool them down

Yeah, and people who choose to buy cheap Chinese tyres will only do an emergency stop when its dry and safe to do so:D

CiniO

TheBully wrote: »

Don't worry about speed ratings, Unless ur driving a ferrari then it doesn't matter! it doesn't mean that your tyre will explode if u reach a certain speed, It means that they are tested at that speed for a prolonged length of time! hope that's a help!

Yes, but if you drive on T rating tyre (max 190km/h) for one hour at 200km/h, then there it's actually quite likely tyre will eventually burst.
I assume OP's passat is perfactly capable of doing 200km/h.

NordicDiver

CiniO wrote: »

I assume OP's passat is perfactly capable of doing 200km/h.

208km/h ! (autobahn)

CiniO

NordicDiver wrote: »

208km/h ! (autobahn)

That's what I mean.
By fitting T rated tyre (190km/h) any driver must be aware of those limitations.

NordicDiver

CiniO wrote: »

That's what I mean.
By fitting T rated tyre (190km/h) any driver must be aware of those limitations.

munchkin_utd

CiniO wrote: »

That's what I mean.
By fitting T rated tyre (190km/h) any driver must be aware of those limitations.

in germany when fitting such low speed tyres you have to put a sticker on the dash to remind yourself not to go over the limit that the tyre is capable of.

The fine by the way is €20
http://www.focus.de/auto/ratgeber/sicherheit/reifen/vorschriften/winterreifen-aufkleber-muss-sein_aid_336394.html